My Shot of the Day – St. Nicholas Monastary, Macedonia

St. Nicholas Monastery is located on a cliff above Matka Canyon, just south of Skopje, Macedonia. The church was first mentioned in the 1600s but was surely constructed many years before that. It was probably built on top of a monastary dating from the earliest days of Christianity. The iconstasis of the church was painted in 1645. Reports are that the western side of the church was frescoed in 1630. The monastery was deserted in the 18th century. The church saw life again from 1820-1897 when it was again abandoned.

On the cold January day I hiked to the church I found a deserted KLA ambush position at a switchback in the trail.  No one else was around.